ENGL 298 B: Intermediate Writing Social Sciences   Autumn 2011, University of Washington

Over the past two and a half weeks I learned I have to be more open as a writer.  By this I mean that I have learned to be open to different styles, such as blog posts and proposals, and to accept constructive criticism as a guide on how to improve.  From my experience, nobody likes being told that they are wrong, but I have found it helpful in writing to not be afraid to present something non-traditional and then be told whether or not it is a difficult idea to expand on.  In MP 1.2 I presented an idea that would have required research that could not be fit into a four-page paper.  While it was an interesting idea with information behind it, it is good to know that there are limits in writing, and one does not always have to stretch for an idea when one, that is full of possibilities, could be right in front of them.

My reading habits have also changed as I have become more familiar with the types of papers we are writing and blog posts we are responding to.  It is one thing to simply read a text, such as Goldman’s work, but it is another to work to understand it and be able to present her ideas in an argumentative manner while still accepting Plato’s beliefs as credible.  While I always tried to understand texts as I read them I would sometime just simply read through them to say I did so.  This way of reading is not very helpful when you have to later understand and write about the text.  Now, and as the quarter goes, on I plan on reading more academically, to understand the concepts the authors are presenting in order to argue in favor of or against them to help prepare myself for class and for assignments.